


it's true (i was made for you)

by SPC_writes



Category: The Prom - Sklar/Beguelin/Martin
Genre: 5+1 Things, F/F, also there's funnel cake, emma wins alyssa a lot of stuffed animals
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-05-10
Updated: 2020-05-20
Packaged: 2021-03-02 19:48:11
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 6
Words: 8,538
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24102364
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/SPC_writes/pseuds/SPC_writes
Summary: Emma stands back as Alyssa hands over her tickets to the disgruntled teen running the game. Loud music startles her as the bank of machines whir to life and Alyssa and three other competitors start slamming the giant mallet onto the heads of plastic bulls. She is a flurry of movement for 30 seconds until the game ends and a small child a few machines over is declared the winner.Alyssa turns around and walks over to where Emma is waiting. Out of view of the winning child, she allows herself to pout, eliciting a laugh from Emma.“Are you really gonna let yourself be upset that an eight-year-old beat you?”“…yes. Yes, I am.”-or, five times emma wins alyssa a stuffed animal at the fair and one time alyssa does
Relationships: Alyssa Greene/Emma Nolan
Comments: 22
Kudos: 95





	1. 18

_18_

Emma had never seen the point in the fairs that came to Edgewater in the summer. Everyone in town went, there was never any shade, and half the games were broken at any given time. But when Alyssa suggests going the summer after their senior year, she finds that she can’t say no. How can she pass up the opportunity to walk hand-in-hand, with her stunning girlfriend, through crowds of people who had made her life a living hell and rub her happiness in their faces? Oh, and there was also the fact that she can never say no to Alyssa.

That is how she finds herself, on a blistering hot June afternoon, being dragged through the fairgrounds carrying cotton candy, kettle corn, and a slushy as Alyssa bounces around. How she has the energy to say hi to everyone who passes while also keeping up an endless stream of chatter about what they should do astounds Emma. They had already gone on some rides that definitely broke several safety codes, eaten their weight in funnel cake, and nearly gotten spit on by a llama over in the petting zoo area. Emma was exhausted, but Alyssa’s enthusiasm was contagious.

“Babe! Babe, look!” Alyssa whirls around, pointing off to her right. Emma tears her eyes away from where a fluffy puppy is devouring a cup of whipped cream and follows Alyssa’s finger. She’s pointing at a whac-a-mole machine that has been rebranded to fit the farm theme of the fair. The neon sign now proudly reads: WHAC-A-BULL.

“I used to love this! I never could get them all, so I never got a prize, but my dad would always play it again and again until he could win me one.” Her smile falters for a moment, but she shakes the memory away. “C’mon! Let’s try it.”

Emma stands back as Alyssa hands over her tickets to the disgruntled teen running the game. Loud music startles her as the bank of machines whir to life and Alyssa and three other competitors start slamming the giant mallet onto the heads of plastic bulls. She is a flurry of movement for 30 seconds until the game ends and a small child a few machines over is declared the winner.

Alyssa turns around and walks over to where Emma is waiting. Out of view of the winning child, she allows herself to pout, eliciting a laugh from Emma.

“Are you really gonna let yourself be upset that an eight-year-old beat you?”

“…yes. Yes, I am.”

“Who knew, Alyssa Greene is a sore loser.”

“Babe, everyone knows that. Why do you think I never lose?”

Out of nowhere, Kaylee and Shelby burst from the crowds and rope Alyssa into a heated debate about which Chris is the superior Chris. After quickly deciding that she did NOT need to be there for this discussion, Emma leans over and whispers to Alyssa that she’s going to go to the bathroom and get some water. Because she can, she kisses her cheek and walks off with a skip in her step.

On her way back from the concession stand, Emma passes the Whac-a-Bull stand again. On a whim, she fishes out one of their final tickets and passes it to the same teen as before who now looks like he has even less of a will to live. Emma picks up the mallet, takes a deep breath, and launches into action.

* * *

Alyssa is still engrossed in conversation with Kaylee and Shelby when fuzzy hands block her vision. She leaps backwards, directly into a laughing Emma who is holding a massive pink and purple teddy bear in her arms.

“Em? What’s that?”

Emma glances down at the bear. “Come on Lys, you’ve seen a teddy bear before.”

Alyssa raises an eyebrow. “Yes of course I’ve seen a teddy bear before. What are YOU doing with THAT teddy bear when you definitely did not have that five minutes ago?”

“Ah, yeah, that. Well, when I was coming back from getting water, I, um, may have stopped at the Whac-A-Bull and, um, won this? For you?”

Alyssa is silent for a long moment. She swallows hard before speaking. “You. You won that? For me?”

Emma fidgets with the bear’s ear. “Yeah, I hope that’s okay. I know you really wanted to win something yourself, but also that your dad would do it until he won you something and I just, I dunno, wanted to get you something because you’ve been having so much fun today and I wanted you to have something to remember this day by? I know, it’s silly, I shouldn’t have—”

“Emma, please, stop talking. No, you didn’t have to at all but the fact that you did? Just because you wanted me to have some tangible reminder of today?” Alyssa steps forward and strokes Emma’s cheeks with her thumbs. “That means more to me than I could ever say.” Her eyes dart across Emma’s face, waiting for her words to sink in. Emma finally meets her eyes.

“Really?”

“Really.”


	2. 21

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you so much for all the love last chapter! It was so unexpected, but much appreciated.

_21_

Alyssa grins and turns her face towards the morning sun. She hadn’t been able to get back to Indiana for the fair in several years, her time split between part time jobs, summer internships, and somehow making it to every single open mic night Emma signed up for. So, when the opportunity arose for her and Emma to come home while the fair was in town, they jumped at the chance.

Emma still did not share Alyssa’s level of enthusiasm when it came to the fair, but, in her defense, it was a level that was nearly impossible to match. Alyssa insisted on making the most of their day at the fair, and that meant getting there as soon as the gates opened at nine. The bright sunshine was helping wake Emma up, since the iced coffee in her hand hadn’t succeeded in doing so just yet.

“C’mon, c’mon, c’mon,” Alyssa mutters as she bounces impatiently as the employees finally start allowing people in. As soon as the person in front of her starts moving, she reaches back, grabs Emma’s hand, and starts pulling her forward, eager to be at the front of the line for one of the two rides they know won’t fall apart underneath them.

“Hey! Lys! Slow down, we have all day!”

“Yeah, and we are going to use every damn second of this day. I’m putting three years’ worth of fairs into today.”

“…you do realize that the fair is here all week and we could, y’know, come back another day?”

Alyssa pauses, looking at Emma in disbelief. “Of course I know that. But that isn’t going to stop me from squeezing every second out of today.”

Emma sighs and shakes her head. “Lead the way then, my dear.”

Alyssa gives her a brilliant smile, nose scrunching and eyes crinkling. _Oh right_ , Emma thinks. _That’s why I’m doing this._

They survive the Ali Baba, the Pirate Ship, and the Wave Swingers. But when Alyssa makes a beeline for the Tilt-A-Whirl, Emma decides she has risked her life enough for one day and heads towards the game booths. She quickly learns that she has less hand-eye coordination than she believed, failing to burst any balloons with darts or knock any milk cartons over with the provided ball.

Emma groans loudly at her most recent failed attempt at playing basketball when she feels familiar arms wrap around her waist. Alyssa rests her chin on Emma’s shoulder, chuckling lightly in her ear.

“Having fun?”

“I was before I learned that I’m shit at everything,” Emma huffs. Alyssa laughs, loud and bright, before placing a kiss just under Emma’s jaw and pulling away.

“Come on, let’s get some fried food in you and while you’re eating, I will prove to you that you’re not shit at everything.”

After splitting a funnel cake and inhaling some fried Oreos, Emma has to admit she may have overreacted. Alyssa agrees to be done with rides for the day and insists she’s content to spend the rest of the afternoon playing games and enjoying the atmosphere. She set her sights on the High Striker, convinced her years of cheerleading and semi-regular attendance of yoga classes would allow her to ring the bell.

Alyssa puffs out her cheeks in annoyance, squaring her shoulders as she stares down the offending game in front of her. “Third time’s the charm,” she mutters, planting her feet and, once again, raises the mallet high over her head. She brings it down with all the force she can generate, but it’s not enough. The puck shoots up close to the bell at the top, but stops several inches shy. Alyssa throws her head back in frustration and starts fishing more tickets out of her pocket when Emma’s voice catches her attention.

“Lyssa? Hey, hey, honey, okay, you’re very strong, I love you very much, but I think it’s time to let someone else have a go at it, yeah? Charlie here has been waiting very patiently,” Emma gestures to the little boy standing next to her. “We can circle back to this after we finish making the rounds.”

Alyssa blushes once she realizes that a line has formed, waiting for her to finish grumbling curses at the High Striker. She passes off the mallet to Charlie, then grabs Emma’s arm and pulls her away.

“Why didn’t you tell me there were people waiting?!”

“I tried! But you were in the zone and I didn’t want to get too close because, well, you were holding that mallet and it kinda looked like you didn’t care where you swung it.”

“…yeah that was probably smart.”

Emma decides they should pick a game with less potential for injury and steers them towards the water gun horse races. They pick seats 7 and 8, because Alyssa liked the green saddle pad on the plastic horse that signified number 7. Emma picked number 8 because it was the only other seat left.

The game operator rings the bell and Alyssa scrambles to focus the stream of water on the tiny target in front of her. She grips the water gun with both hands, concentrating with all her might. She only realizes that she’s forgotten to breathe once the water shuts off and a happy melody plays that indicates the winner.

Emma. Emma won.

Alyssa turns to her right, where Emma bashfully glances over.

“Whoops?”

“Em! No, no whoops! You won! Pick a prize!”

Emma glances up at the options the game operator is gesturing to, and tilts her head, thinking hard about which cheaply made stuffed animal she is going to select.

“That one.” She points to a sturdy-looking green stuffed dog hanging by its right ear in the back corner of the booth. The dog gets taken down and passed out to where Emma and Alyssa are waiting. Alyssa laughs as Emma gently strokes the dog’s head.

“Well, would ya look at that. You’ve still got it, babe.”

Emma stops petting the dog and bites her lip nervously.

“Here,” she says, passing the dog to Alyssa. “I’d been wanting to get you something all day, and I didn’t mean to, like, _beat_ you in the process, but it feels like tradition at this point. A way to commemorate our day at the fair.”

Alyssa stares wordlessly at the stuffed animal. When she meets Emma’s eyes again, there are tears glistening. Alyssa surges forward and throws her arms around her shoulders, burying her head in Emma’s neck.

“You’re perfect,” she mumbles. “How did I get so lucky.”

Alyssa pulls back just enough to give Emma a hard, chaste kiss, before letting go. She looks at the stuffed dog in her arms for a moment.

“I’m gonna name him Verde.”

“Verde. Like. Green? In Spanish?”

“Yes.”

“Of course you are.”


	3. 33

_33_

“How has it been, what, five years? Since we were here last?” Alyssa asks in astonishment.

“Well, there was that summer we got married. Remember that? That was kind of a big thing that happened that one time,” Emma jokes, bumping her shoulder against her wife’s.

Alyssa laughs, a wide grin on her face. “Ohhh right, I forgot about that. Okay, I’ll give you that one, but man, why does it keep getting harder and harder to make it back here for this?” She glances around as they walk through the fairgrounds, watching small children race from ride to ride, followed by frantic parents yelling at them to slow down

“Hey,” she says. “Think that will be us soon?”

Emma hums for a moment. “I hope so.” She laces their fingers together. “Come on, I hear some kettle corn calling my name.”

“Emma, it’s 10 am.”

“And?”

“You know 10 am means funnel cake.”

Funnel cake acquired and consumed, the couple decide to limit their activities to the games until they are certain that they won’t throw up after any of the rides. They learned the hard way that, while funnel cake is their preferred morning fair snack, it does not mix well with spinning, dropping, or flipping. That has to be saved for later, before they indulge in their afternoon snack combination of kettle corn, fried Oreos, and a pickle.

It’s not too crowded yet, with most of the early entrants focused on getting in as many of the rides as possible before the inevitable early afternoon rush. Emma and Alyssa lazily make their way towards the games. They try their hand at the ring toss (Alyssa fairs better than Emma, but only just), skee-ball (Emma finds out that she is oddly good at it), and Whac-A-Mole (at some point some of the bulls from Whac-A-Bull broke and apparently the fair decided to just stick with the generic moles). Alyssa reigned triumphant, beating out a 10-year-old girl and an angry teenage boy. She selected a stuffed monkey, which now hangs proudly around her neck as she and Emma walk hand in hand throughout the fairgrounds.

“Babe,” Emma starts. “I just wanted to ask…is there a reason you’re wearing the monkey as an ascot?”

“It’s a monk-scot, Em. A monk-scot,” Alyssa replies, only slightly indignant. “And yes, I’m wearing it because I believe that it should be a staple of every wardrobe.”

Emma lets out a loud, bright laugh. “You’re something else, you know that,” she says with a grin.

“Yeah, I know that,” Alyssa smiles and scrunches up her face. Emma leans over and presses a quick kiss to her nose. She still can’t quite believe that she’s able to do that. Casually show affection for her wife, in public, in Edgewater of all places. They’ve been together for 17 years now and these small touches still send a thrill through her every single time. Needing to distract herself from getting too wrapped up in Alyssa, Emma latches onto the first game she sees.

“Let’s try the High Striker!”

Alyssa glances over, confused. “Em, we’re terrible at that. Remember? Last time we did it I almost knocked you out and you had a bruise on your forehead for a week.”

Emma scoffs. “Please, that only happened because I was distracted and didn’t notice you were getting ready to swing.” Alyssa raises an eyebrow in disbelief.

“You were distracted because you were paying attention to my biceps and not to what they were doing.”

“Exactly. I was distracted.”

Alyssa shakes her head fondly. “Well alright! Let’s see whatcha got.” She takes the water bottle out of Emma’s hand, hands over a ticket to the game operator, and steps back. “After you, slugger.”

Emma picks up the mallet and steps back, carefully considering her approach. She readjusts her grip, lifts it high over her head, and swings. The mallet hits the lever with a satisfying _thwack_ and the puck shoots up, up, up.

_DING_

Emma’s jaw drops. The surprised game operator gestures to the available prizes and tells her to select one. In a daze, she grabs a stuffed moose. When she walks back over to Alyssa, she finds her wife with a glazed look on her face, her breathing shallow.

“Lys? Alyssa? Are you alright?” Emma tries to meet her eyes. “Look! I got you a moose! Um, Moosey the moose!”

Alyssa finally looks directly at Emma with an unreadable expression.

“Em.”

“Yes?”

“We're going to go home right now and make a baby.”

“That’s…that’s not how that works. Also, what about the fair, you’ve been so excited for it and we haven’t even gone on any of the rides and—”

“Emma?”

“Hm?”

“Right now, I need you to shut up. We’re coming back tomorrow to go on the rides. But if we don’t leave in the next 30 seconds, I am going to jump you right here and now and I don’t really feel like putting on a show.”

“…let’s go.”


	4. 43

_43_

“Come on, come on, _come ON_! We gotta be first in line!”

Emma sighs and runs a hand through her hair. It’s barely 9:30 am and she already knows it’s going to be a three-coffee day. “Babe. Just so we’re clear. Today, he’s _your_ son.”

Alyssa pauses from where she was getting ready to race Connor to the Pirate Ship. “I have no clue what you’re talking about,” she says with a straight face. She turns to their eight-year-old. “Ready? On your mark, get set, _HEY THAT’S CHEATING_!” Connor sprints away as Alyssa looks back at Emma, who watches, eyebrows raised, holding the hand of six-year-old Mia. “I should probably go get him, right?”

“Yeah, I think that’s a good idea.”

Alyssa groans and runs off, weaving through the crowds as she silently curses her son’s long legs. Mia tugs at the hem of Emma’s shirt.

“Mama, why does Connor do that?”

Emma smiles and runs her fingers through Mia’s messy curls. “Because he likes giving us heart attacks. Plus,” she adds in a stage whisper, “I think I let him spend too much time alone with Mommy. She’s pretty silly, huh?” Mia nods vigorously and giggles.

“Hey Mama?” Mia asks shyly. “I wanna get something for Mommy.”

Emma pauses, surprised. “Oh yeah? What do you want to get her?”

Mia turns rapidly in a circle, tripping over her feet in the process. Emma grabs her forearms before her daughter can fall over completely. Mia squints her eyes, intensely focused on finding the perfect gift for Alyssa. She scans the rows of stuffed animals, plastic trinkets, and goldfish in plastic bags.

“THAT ONE!”

She points excitedly at what Emma has to believe is the world’s largest stuffed panda, prominently displayed next to the set up for the Wheel of Fortune. Internally, Emma groans. While this Wheel of Fortune is much kinder than the kinds at casinos, with almost everyone who plays getting some kind of prize, the panda was a big-ticket item. The odds of the wheel stopping in the tiny sliver dedicated to those prizes would be minuscule at best. Immediately, her mind goes into overdrive, trying to figure out how to keep Mia from getting her hopes up without completely devastating her.

“Oh, um, that might be a tricky one, sweetie,” Emma starts. “Why don’t we look around and see if there might be some other games we can try. I’m sure we can find something for Mommy there.” Mia pouts for a moment until she notices the food stand. She gasps when she sees the pink clouds of cotton candy and looks up with big, brown, puppy-dog eyes. 

Thirty minutes later, Alyssa and Connor find a thrilled Mia covered in sticky sugar sitting next to a worn-out Emma who is juggling wet wipes, a water bottle, and three bottles of sunscreen.

“So…how are we doing over here,” Alyssa asks smugly.

Emma looks up, surprised to see her family and quickly trying to find her composure. “Oh! You’re back! Well, WE have had a GREAT time eating cotton candy, haven’t we, Mia?” Mia grins and launches into a long-winded explanation of how she decided which specific color of cotton candy to get. Connor, being a dutiful older brother, sits down and nods along to Mia’s story. As soon as she remembers to take a breath, he jumps in to tell her all about the ride he went on.

“It went up sooooo high! And then it goes down and then it goes back up! And Mommy and I almost fell out, we were upside down!” He continues, gesturing wildly to illustrate just how scary and high the ride got. Alyssa sits down next to Emma on the bench and leans into her shoulder.

“I promise it didn’t actually go upside down,” she whispers. “I might not win any Mother-Of-The-Year awards but all we went on was the Pirate Ship.” Emma shakes her head fondly and presses a kiss to Alyssa’s temple.

“I know you didn’t. He likes to exaggerate and show off how big and brave he is,” Emma says, lips grazing the side of Alyssa’s head. She takes advantage of having another set of eyes watching their children and leans back, taking in the sight of her wife. It’s been 27 years and Emma has yet to tire of seeing her face. Her dark curls have a few gray strands running through them, the laugh lines around her eyes are more prominent, and her features are a little softer, but she is still the most gorgeous women Emma has ever seen. Alyssa glances over and catches Emma staring.

“What?”

Emma smiles. “I love you.”

Alyssa grins back and laughs. “Yeah, I love you too. Dork,” she adds, knocking their shoulders together.

* * *

It’s early afternoon by the time Connor and Mia decide they are done with the rides and want to play some games. The Indiana sun had thoroughly scorched the earth and they are all happy to stay in the shade of the awnings near the game booths. Mia can barely see over the counter, yet somehow manages a nearly perfect score on the ring toss (Emma and Alyssa barely have time to conceal their utter disbelief before she turns around clutching her newly acquired stuffed tiger). Connor is absurdly good at skee-ball (“He gets that from me,” Emma proudly announces), earning more than enough tickets for a Rubik’s cube knock off. Alyssa flaunts her aim at the water guns, barely losing out to a teenager three stations to the left. She’s mildly annoyed, a little voice always reminding her that second is the first loser, but is able to swallow it down when she notices the teenager give the little girl next to her the prize.

Emma is more than happy to sit back and watch. She has never been the competitive one, preferring to maintain the peace and make sure everyone has a good time. But getting to watch her children experience the fair for the first time, complete with fried food and winning and losing and the general insanity of it all brings her more joy than she could have ever imagined. The one thing she can’t get out of her head is the giant panda Mia pointed out that morning. She follows her family from game to game, an idea slowly starting to form.

“Hey,” Emma steps up behind Alyssa, placing a hand on the small of her back. “I’m going to go refill my water, do you want me to refill yours?”

Alyssa barely glances over, her focus entirely on the balloons in front of her and the darts in her hand. “Yeah, I think the kids could use some too,” she says as she gestures vaguely to the backpack at her feet. “They’re in the front pocket.”

Emma slings the backpack over her shoulders and starts in the direction of the water bottle refill station. Thankfully, the line is short, and a few minutes later she is screwing the top back onto the last bottle and zipping up the backpack once more. She doesn’t head back in the direction she came, though. Instead, she slips through the crowds and makes her way to the Wheel of Fortune.

* * *

“Alright, Mia! Way to go, kiddo!” Alyssa cheers Mia’s successful attempt at the basketball station. She sets Mia back on the ground, having picked her up to help her get a better angle. Connor steps in front of them to start his turn when Mia lets out a shriek of delight.

“MOMMY, MOMMY! LOOK!”

Confused, Alyssa turns, only to see a massive stuffed panda walking towards them. Her confusion turns to amusement when she sees Emma’s head pop under the bear’s arm, face red with the effort of carrying such a large object.

“Hey there, Mama. Care to explain,” Alyssa asks, laughing. She steps forward and takes the bear from Emma, who looked like she was about to keel over.

“Oh, you know, just decided to pick up a little something before we finished for the day,” Emma manages to say, in between gulps of water. Once her face looks less like a tomato and closer to her usual shade of extreme paleness, she gestures Mia over and puts her hands on her daughter’s shoulders. “Mia really wanted to get you something from the fair and thought that the panda would be _perfect_ for you.” Mia beams as she nods her heads.

“Do you like it, Mommy?”

Alyssa blinks back tears. “I love it, sweetie,” she says in a choked voice. “Come here.” She crouches down and Mia runs into her arms, half hugging Alyssa and half hugging the panda. Alyssa takes a shuddering breath and squeezes her close. “Thank you, baby,” she whispers in Mia’s ear. “I love you.”

Mia giggles and pulls back. “I love you too, Mommy! Ooh can we have kettle corn?”

“Yeah, can we?” Connor grabs Mia’s hand. “Please? We haven’t had any yet and you said we could get some today.”

Emma pretends to think about it for a moment. “Oh, I don’t know,” she starts, brow furrowed. “I mean, who really needs kettle corn when we have regular popcorn at home?” At the sight of Connor and Mia’s perplexed faces, she bursts out laughing. “Of course we can get kettle corn. Come on, let’s go.”

Connor lets out a shout of joy and runs off, dragging Mia behind him. Emma watches them run to the food stand and make their way to the back of the line. Once she’s sure they’re where they are supposed to be, she turns her attention to Alyssa, who is still huddled on the ground, clutching the panda. Emma crouches down in front of her and rubs her arms, trying to get her attention.

“Are you alright, love?” Emma asks. Alyssa looks up and Emma now can see the tear tracks on her face that she was hiding in the bear’s fur. “Oh honey,” she murmurs. She helps Alyssa to her feet, then gently cups her face. Her thumbs softly wipe the tears away. Alyssa turns her head and presses a kiss to Emma’s palm.

“Thank you,” she says quietly, voice thick. She runs a hand through her hair. “I don’t know how you always manage to outdo yourself, year after year.”

Emma blushes and shrugs her shoulders. “This one really was all Mia. She saw it at the Wheel of Fortune right when we got here this morning. I just had to figure out when I could go play it without her seeing and getting disappointed when it landed on a smaller prize. I just got really, _really_ lucky today, I guess.”

Alyssa tilts her head, a soft smile on her face. “I know the feeling.”


	5. 65

_65_

Emma is certain she will never tire of seeing the fair through a child’s eyes. Especially when that child is her three-year-old grandson. Little Michael is perched on her hip, his right hand buried in her hair, his left playing with the thin gold chain around her neck.

“Gamma, look!” Michael points to the recently refurbished merry-go-round. In true Edgewater fashion, the horses have been replaced with all sorts of barnyard animals. “Gamma, can I, can I?” Emma’s not entirely sure how “Grandma” evolved into “Gamma,” but the mispronunciation stuck, and she now wears the name proudly. Michael wiggles out of her arms, impatient with how slowly she’s walking.

“Hey, hey buddy! Hold up,” Connor runs up and grabs his son’s hand. “Remember how we talked about staying close? There are a lot of people here and we don’t want to lose you.”

Michael nods sagely, looking far more serious than any three-year-old should. “Okay, Daddy.” He pauses, thinking hard. “Daddy?”

“Yes?”

“Can I ride a sheep?”

Connor blinks in surprise. “Um, I dunno buddy. I don’t think there are—”

“Of course you can, Michael,” Connor’s husband, Josh, jumps in. “When we go on the merry-go-round, you can definitely sit on the sheep.” Understanding dawns on Connor’s face, immediately followed by a blush at having completely misunderstood his son’s question. Josh takes Michael’s other hand and the three of them head towards the growing line for the merry-go-round.

Alyssa suddenly appears at Emma’s right shoulder. Emma glances over in surprise.

“Where did you come from?”

Alyssa pretends to think. “Well, I was born in Indianapolis but moved to Edgewater when I was two—”

“That is not what I meant, and you know it,” Emma says with a laugh. Alyssa wrinkles her nose in response and grabs Emma’s hand, lacing their fingers together.

“I was buying some tickets for Mia and Asher. They got stuck behind a tractor in a no-passing zone. They should be here soon.” Alyssa holds up her right hand, still clutching the tickets, before twisting around to put them in her backpack. She straightens up and gestures vaguely in the direction of the merry-go-round. “Let’s go find our kids before Michael convinces them to spend all day with the sheep.”

* * *

After three rides on the merry-go-round, Connor is finally able to pull Michael away from his new sheep friend (“Lamby will still be here later. Why don’t we go get some funnel cake now!”). While Michael wasn’t thrilled with this arrangement at first, he immediately forgets about Lamby when he sees his Aunt Mia. He takes a running leap at her off the merry-go-round platform and would have fallen flat on his face had Asher not swooped in and grabbed him out of the air.

Michael gasps in delight. “UNCLE ASHER!” He giggles and wriggles out of Asher’s grasp as Asher starts tickling his side.

“Hey bud,” Asher says. “Why don’t we see what Aunt Mia has.” He bends down and adds in a loud whisper, “I think she has some candy in her bag just for you.” Michael’s eyes go wide with excitement and he runs over to where Mia had crouched down and is waiting with open arms.

Emma pats Asher on the back as he stands up, brushing the dried grass off his knees. “Have you asked him to be the ring bearer yet,” she questions. Mia and Asher’s wedding might be nine months away, but when it comes to organization, Mia takes after Alyssa. She had everything organized within six weeks of getting engaged. The only outstanding task is to officially ask Michael if he would be their ring bearer.

He shakes his head. “Connor and Josh want to wait until it gets a little closer. They don’t know if they can take nine months of him asking about it,” he adds with a laugh. Asher glances at his wrist, checking the time. “Oh, I gotta go! I promised Mia I’d get her a frozen lemonade as soon as the stand opened. I’ll see you later, Mama.” He pecks Emma on the cheek then walks briskly in the opposite direction.

Emma looks around, realizing that her family has suddenly disappeared. Just as she finishes turning in a circle, Alyssa rematerializes holding two strawberry-banana smoothies.

“How do you _do_ that?”

Alyssa sips her smoothie innocently. “Do what?”

“I—,” Emma stutters, shaking her head. “I don’t even know. Hand it over,” she says, grabbing for the second smoothie. Alyssa smiles, clearly amused at Emma’s frustration. Taking pity on her, Alyssa gently guides Emma towards the games. “Why don’t you take out your feelings on some poor, helpless machines. It always seems to make you feel better.”

Although she is still mystified by her wife’s seemingly magical abilities, Emma does admit that yes, she enjoys the games and side stalls more than any other part of the fair. Over the years, the game options have significantly expanded, yet Emma gravitates towards the classics. There are too many memories tied up in them to allow her to fully commit to the new games. Alyssa finishes her smoothie and places her ice-cold hand on the back of Emma’s neck.

“WHAT THE—,” Emma leaps in the air and whirls around to face Alyssa.

“Don’t finish that sentence, honey. There are children around,” Alyssa says lightly. She presses her lips together, trying to contain her laughter. “Come on, I think I saw the coconut shy stall around here somewhere.”

Coconut shy had become a family-favorite game after Connor started playing baseball. He liked any game that gave him an opportunity to show off his arm strength and throwing precision, so he was particularly attached to the game allowing him to knock coconuts off the top of sticks. Of course, anything Connor did Mia wanted to do too, and soon enough coconut shy was the official game of the Nolan-Greene family. It helped that, although the traditional prize of the game is a coconut, at the Edgewater fair, winners get actual prizes. This meant that Mia would be satisfied with the small prize she often got for knocking down one coconut and Connor would walk away with the largest prize at the stand.

Alyssa leads Emma through the crowds and, sure enough, is able to find the coconut shy stall with little effort. She steps up first, giving Emma a few more minutes to finish her smoothie. The portly middle-aged man running the game hands her three wooden balls and steps out of the way. She pushes some stray curls behind her ear, the hair more gray than brown now. She staggers her stance, right foot farther back and slightly turned out. Her eyes narrow in concentration.

Alyssa misses with all three balls. She throws her head back and laughs, then laughs harder when she notices Emma’s confused expression. She simply shrugs and says, “Balls never really have been my thing, now have they?”

Emma’s jaw drops. She lets out a breathless laugh, in complete disbelief at how, after all this time, Alyssa still finds new ways to surprise her. “You’re something else, Alyssa Greene.”

Alyssa smirks, playing along. “Excuse me, ma’am. It’s Nolan-Greene and you know it.”

“Oh, my apologies, in my old age I forget some things.”

Alyssa shakes her head. “You’re insufferable. Now just throw some balls at some coconuts so we can find our children and spoil our grandson.”

Emma steps up to the counter and picks up the balls. She gets in position, takes a deep breath, and throws.

* * *

They find their family at a picnic table behind the concessions stand. Michael has powdered sugar all over his face, Mia is tossing kettle corn in the air for Asher to catch in his mouth, and Connor is digging in Josh’s backpack, trying to find wet wipes. Mia is the first to notice her moms approaching and stops mid toss. Her uncontrollable laughter draws the others’ attention.

Michael lights up when he notices Emma and Alyssa…and the massive black and white stuffed horse in Alyssa’s arms. “NANA'S GOT A PONY,” he shouts, scrambling off the bench. In his excitement he trips over his feet, ending up sprawled out on the hot earth. He pops back up in front of Alyssa, eyes wide in excitement. “Where’dya get the pony, Nana?”

Alyssa crouches down to Michael’s level and pushes his thick blonde hair off his forehead. “Well,” she starts. “Gamma won him for me. Every time we come to the fair, she plays a whole bunch of games until she wins me a prize.” She looks up at Emma, who is watching them with a small smile on her face. Alyssa continues, “She’s been doing it a really long time. It’s always something different, something that reminds me just how lucky I am to have her.” She leans forward, whispering conspiratorially. “I’ve had to get rid of some furniture to make room for all the prizes.”

Emma flicks her on the back of her head. “No, you haven’t,” she says, starting to crouch down as well. “Okay that’s not happening,” she groans as she stands back up, rubbing her aching knee. Instead, she leans over and picks Michael up, balancing him on her hip. “It’s a tradition that I win Nana a prize every year at the fair. But I thought we might start a new tradition. Do you want to know what that is?” Emma pauses, watching Michael’s excited nods. “What if, every year, Nana and I win you a prize?” She reaches into her backpack and pulls out a small, neon orange bear.

Michael gasps in delight. He takes the bear out of Emma’s hand and looks up hopefully. “It’s mine?”

“Yeah, buddy. It’s yours.”

He stares at his bear for another moment before twisting in Emma’s arms. “Daddy! Papa! Lookit!” Josh comes over to take Michael from Emma and carries him back to the rest of the group. Michael immediately starts chattering away, trying to decide on a name for the bear and talking about all the things he wants to show his bear when he gets home. Mia and Asher start suggesting names while Connor and Josh set to work clearing off the picnic table. Emma tilts her head, watching the domestic scene unfold in front of her.

Alyssa slips her arm around Emma’s waist and hooks her chin over her shoulder. “You did good, baby.”

Emma looks over and kisses Alyssa’s nose. “Well, I had a really great partner through it all.” Alyssa feigns surprise.

“I’m talking about the teddy bear, what are _you_ talking about?!”

Emma shakes her head fondly. “I’m just really happy it’s always been you.”

Alyssa smiles, resting her forehead against Emma’s, just as she did during their first dance when Emma said those same words. She takes a shaky breath and replies as she did all those years ago.

“Always has been, always will be.”

“I did and I do.”

“I did and I do.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Just the +1 to go!


	6. 28

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you for all the love. Here is the "+1" in this 5+1 series!

_28_

Alyssa always is ball of energy when it comes time for the fair, but this year she is practically vibrating. She has been talking nonstop for days about what they’re going to do, who they’re going to see, and how they’re going to fit everything into one perfect Saturday. As usual, Emma is pleasantly bemused by her girlfriend’s enthusiasm and just nods her agreement, occasionally adding in the two most important words in any relationship: “Yes, dear.”

Saturday dawns bright and hot and, as usual, Emma and Alyssa are waiting at the gates of the fairgrounds at 9 am on the dot. Emma is still not a morning person, but the familiar routine has become more bearable over the years. Alyssa bounces on the balls of her feet, and Emma is pretty certain that the only thing preventing her from taking flight is their linked fingers. The gates creak open and, seconds later, Alyssa pulls Emma towards a packed day of rides, games, and various forms of sugar.

They hit some of their favorites—bumper cars, the drop tower, the Hurricane, and the Tilt-a-Whirl—before deciding it is well past time for their first fair-food-fill-up of the day. Apparently, Alyssa is very hungry, deciding to eat her bodyweight in funnel cake and corn dogs while Emma watches in amazement. Emma had thought that Alyssa would start settling in and enjoying the day once they’d gotten a few rides under their belt, but somehow, she just seems to be getting more and more excited. Alyssa’s foot has been shaking nonstop since they sat down to eat, and she’s been drumming her fingers against her thigh in an impressive staccato rhythm. Emma catches Alyssa’s eye.

“How ya doing, babe,” she asks with a laugh. Alyssa looks up with a startled, almost manic, expression. She looks down at her leg, seeming surprised at the frantic movements and lets out a breathless chuckle.

“Yeah, I guess I’m just excited that we’re finally here,” she says with a smile, shrugging sheepishly. She opens her mouth to say something but cuts herself off when her phone buzzes on the table. Alyssa grabs the phone, staring intently at the message for a second before grinning and typing furiously. “Kaylee and Shelby just got here,” she explains, hopping up from her seat and looking around frantically.

“Lys, relax!” Emma grabs her hand and lightly draws circles on the inside of her wrist. “They’ll find us when they find us.” Alyssa’s tense shoulders seem to relax at her touch, and she sinks back to the bench. Emma keeps drawing the circles before pressing a featherlight kiss where her fingers had been. Alyssa gives her a soft smile and pecks the tip of her nose.

“Thank you.”

“For what,” Emma furrows her brow.

Alyssa tilts her head, thinking. “For more than I can say.”

Emma is saved from having to come up with a response by Kaylee and Shelby’s noisy arrival. The dynamic duo are wearing neon tank tops and jean shorts and bring with them a vague sense of chaos that always means fun that will end up giving Emma a headache. Kaylee practically jumps into Alyssa’s arms by way of greeting, while Shelby settles for giving Emma a sensible bear hug.

“Oh. My. God. You will not BELIEVE what happened this morning. So, we stopped at the diner before heading over here, right? And we walk in and the first thing we see…” Kaylee launches excitedly into a thrilling saga about their breakfast adventures while Shelby looks on fondly, occasionally adding in a comment. Emma, by now plenty used to these kinds of stories, quickly becomes engrossed in the conversation. Alyssa glances at her watch and, noting the time, leans over and whispers to Emma that she’s going to go to the bathroom. Emma, looking away from Kaylee for a second, presses a quick kiss to the corner of Alyssa’s mouth.

“Come back quick,” she whispers. “I’ll miss you.” Alyssa playfully swats her shoulder as she stands and walks briskly in the direction of the restrooms. Glancing over her shoulder, she sees Emma once again is entirely focused on Kaylee and Shelby. She takes a deep breath and changes course for the Whac-a-Bull. Time to set the plan in motion.

* * *

Emma is sure that she has spent at least three lifetimes sitting with Kaylee and Shelby at this picnic table. She glances at her phone, expecting a text from Alyssa to light up the screen at any time, explaining what is taking so long. Getting slightly worried, she starts to unlock her phone to text her when Shelby’s phone chimes with an incoming message.

“Oh! Alyssa got stuck talking to one of her mom’s friends and she needs us to come rescue her. She says they’re over by the duck pond.”

The duck pond? What would she have been doing that far out of her way? It’s nowhere near the restrooms. Emma brushes away the confusion, focusing instead on the relief at having an explanation for Alyssa’s lengthy absence. Emma, Kaylee, and Shelby quickly throw away the remaining napkins and paper plates on the table, then slowly start weaving their way through the crowds to the duck pond at the edge of the fairgrounds.

The first thing Emma notices is Alyssa’s back. She’s let her hair grow out a bit and it now hits between her shoulder blades, dark curls as unruly as ever. But once she tears her eyes away from her girlfriend, she notices that Alyssa is talking to—

“Gran?”

Betsy Nolan looks up in faux surprise, pats Alyssa on the shoulder, and walks over to where Emma has stopped, dumbfounded.

“Hello, dear!” Betsy says cheerfully. “What wonderful weather we have today. You know, I usually find this all too hot but this year the humidity hasn’t spiked yet and I have to admit, this is quite enjoyable.”

Once again, Emma finds herself unable to form a response. _Why_ is her grandmother _here_ , talking to Alyssa? Why didn’t Alyssa just tell her that she’d bumped into Gran? What is going on?

Betsy steers Emma closer to the pond. “You know, your grandfather and I would come to this pond every summer and feed the ducks. Of course, now I know that you shouldn’t give ducks bread products, but back then, we’d load up bags with stale slices and burnt ends and just sit here for hours, talking and watching the ducks.” She sighs happily at the memory. “I just wanted to share that because I want you to know that I’m so happy to be here, with you, at this pond, now.”

Emma smiles, confused. “Thank you for telling me that, Gran, but I don’t think I understand?”

Betsy pats her cheek. “You will.”

* * *

Alyssa watches Betsy and Emma, heart pounding. Shelby and Kaylee step in front of her. Shelby grabs her shoulders and gives them a little shake.

“Alright, Ally. Go get your girl.”

Alyssa’s jaw drops. “Ally? The last time you called me that was middle school. Where the heck did that come from?”

Shelby laughs, delighted. “Exactly! I wanted to get your mind to shut up for a minute. _Now_ go get your girl.” She gives Alyssa a little push.

Alyssa feels Shelby and Kaylee step back, close enough to watch, but not so close that they’d be breathing down her neck. She slowly walks towards Betsy and Emma, being careful to stay out of Emma’s eyesight. She stops when she hears Emma say in confusion, “…I don’t think I understand?” She watches as Betsy gently pats Emma’s cheek and respond, “You will,” before walking away. Emma stands there watching Betsy go, head tilted, brain going a million miles a minute.

Alyssa takes a deep breath, then steps forward and taps Emma on the shoulder.

Emma quickly turns around, a smile instantly on her face when she sees Alyssa. Then her eyes drop to the purple and pink stuffed bear clutched in Alyssa’s hands. A bear identical to the one that currently is on a chair in their bedroom. A bear that Alyssa definitely did not have earlier. Emma lets out a soft gasp as she starts putting the pieces together.

Alyssa offers the bear to Emma. She takes a shaky breath then, in a soft, determined voice starts on the speech she has rehearsed for months.

“Ten years ago, we came to this very fair for the first time as a couple. You decided that day that you would win me something. It ended up being a purple and pink bear, from the Whac-A-Bull, which you gave me nervously because you thought I wouldn’t want it. What you didn’t realize was that you had already given me more than should have been possible. You gave me more love than I believed I deserved. You gave me reassurance, and commitment, and everything I didn’t know I needed. I wish I could explain just how much every tiny thing you’ve ever done has made me fall more and more hopelessly in love with you.

“The way you always make sure to have the coffee brewing when I wake up, and also have the kettle hot just in case I decide I want tea that day. How you sneak little bags of gummies into my purse to make me smile when I find them. How you constantly send me videos of penguins making friends with other zoo animals, or pictures of puppies and kittens cuddling. The fact that you find stupid yet intelligent memes and save them for when I have a bad day. I could go on for hours about every little thing you do for me. And at some point, I will. Because I need to make sure that you know that you are, by far, the best thing that has ever happened to me.”

Alyssa bends her right knee and sinks to the ground. “Emma Elizabeth Nolan,” she says, pulling a beautiful gold band out of her pocket. “I want to attempt to make you as happy as you make me for the rest of our lives. Will you marry me?”

Emma stands motionless for what feels to Alyssa to be an eternity. Finally, she manages a nod and lets out a breathless, “Yes!” She reaches down and pulls Alyssa to her, capturing her lips in a desperate kiss. She tastes the saltiness of tears and she can’t quite tell if they’re hers or Alyssa’s. The bear is squished between them, momentarily forgotten in the heat of the moment.

Emma pulls back reluctantly when she realizes she’d forgotten to breathe and notices that it was both their tears she’d been tasting. She reaches out to wipe away Alyssa’s tears at the same time Alyssa tries to wipe away hers, laughing as their arms get a bit tangled in the process.

Alyssa glances at the ring she’s still holding and, gesturing to Emma’s left and asks, “So, can I…?” Emma looks down, realizing for the first time that she never actually took the ring from Alyssa and frantically nods.

“Please.”

Alyssa slips the ring onto Emma’s finger, marveling at how perfectly it fits. She kisses her again, simply because she can’t believe this spectacular woman is now her fiancée. Alyssa pulls back, stroking her thumbs across Emma’s cheeks.

“How are you real,” she murmurs in awe. Emma blinks, shaking her head several times.

“I’ve been asking myself the same thing since high school.”

* * *

The following minutes go by in a blur. Both are vaguely aware of receiving congratulations from Shelby and Kaylee (Alyssa makes a mental note to ask Shelby if she deliberately chose to wear Crocs just to pain Alyssa. She also reminds herself to thank Shelby for videotaping the whole engagement). They are highly aware of Betsy’s bone-crushing hug, and some part of them must have registered her instruction to head back to her house where Veronica Greene is waiting to celebrate their engagement because the next thing they know, they’re sitting in their car staring at each other in shock, the bear sitting between them on the center console.

Alyssa breaks the silence. “We’re getting married.”

“We are! You asked me!”

“And you said yes!”

“I certainly did.”

“And now we’re going to go celebrate with my mother. And your grandmother.”

“…we’ve survived worse.”

Emma’s conviction makes Alyssa laugh, earning her a brilliant smile from her fiancée. Alyssa leans over the center console and kisses Emma hard, leaving her breathless.

“It’s you and me, my love. Forever.”

Emma grabs her hand, drawing circles on her wrist.

“For always.”


End file.
